Illinois city marks birthday with mega bratwurst

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Residents in the southwest Illinois city of Belleville celebrated its 200th birthday with a 200-foot bratwurst, complete with a 200-foot bun.

Larry Schubert and his team from Schubert's Packing Co. in Millstadt used about 120 pounds of meat to make the brat, which volunteers grilled Sunday, the final day of the city's bicentennial celebration, the Belleville News-Democrat reported (http://bit.ly/1po9SwO ).

A few days earlier, a saloon hosted a half-size practice run for grilling the mega-bratwurst.

Lindenwood University and Southwestern Illinois College athletes helped march the bun down a main thoroughfare, making a wide turn in a parking lot to finish the delivery. The athletes also helped roll the bratwurst onto a 200-foot metal grilling trough.

Event organizers decided not to pay a fee to have the bratwurst record attempt recognized by the World Record Academy.